Isaiah 55 Study: Are You Listening to God?
Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David. - Isaiah 55:3
Have you ever been in a crowded room and someone was talking to you, but you didn’t hear them? Maybe you’re within earshot, but didn’t hear them because you were engaged in another conversation.
This is what God alludes to when He tells us to “incline your ear”. He’s already said this in verse 2, “Listen carefully to Me.” We know that this repetition isn’t by accident, but rather highlights the significance of what He’s saying.
Isaiah 55 study continues, we’re onto verse 3 where God concludes His invitation with one final plea to come and listen.
Attention: Are You Listening?
We give the most attention where we’re directing our eyes. It’s why we feel more present when we make eye-contact when speaking with someone. It helps direct our focus – literally – to that very moment. We hear the person in front of us clearer since our attention is on them. It’s no different with God. We’re in a crowded room, with lots of people and shiny objects around us — begging for our attention.
Sure, we can multitask, but even moms would say they don’t have their full focus on each task at hand. We can’t give each one 100%.
We’re constantly multitasking with God. But no matter how we spread our attention, our identity remains in Him. Think of it this way, suppose I tell my husband that I’m only partly his wife. That would be outrageous – I’m either his wife or not. There’s no halfway commitment.
But, we can live half-way committed to God. We see it in marriages, relationships and certainly with our relationship with God. More often than not, we’re the wayward spouse in this marriage-commitment. But if we’re Christians, the reality of our commitment doesn’t change based on how seriously we take it. What we get out of that commitment depends on what we do within it.
If we’re a Christian, the degree to which we invest in our relationship with God will be the degree to which we find enjoyment of life. The more beautiful He becomes to us, the more beautiful the world and those in it will be. As we know Him, we become more like Him. The more we’re like our Creator, the more we’ll see the world through His lens. As we get to know Him, everything expands within us. The closer we walk towards a magical kingdom, the more grand it appears to us.
The further we walk from it, the smaller it becomes. Not that the kingdom shrinks, but our view of it does.
If we’re not a Christian, our identity is found elsewhere. Whomever we give our attention to, that's who we’ll be. Maybe our identity is found in how good of a person we are, or our career or family. As they change, so do we. Life is a sum of little moments we give our allegiance to. Whatever loves we choose to be our hope, will define our life. It will define who we are and how we’ll see the world.
Will we find life with God or continue choosing things that will steal from our life?
God’s Covenantal Love
Not only life, but life to the fullest. Life with an “everlasting covenant.” God mentions His initial covenant that He made with David (2 Samuel 7:12-16). God promised David that through his lineage, He would establish His kingdom. He fulfills His promise through His Son Jesus, who came from David’s bloodline. And now, we’re invited into this covenant.
David writes in the Psalms a few of these promises that now include us:
Lovingkindness forever and established faithfulness (Psalm 89:2)
Everlasting kingdom (Psalm 89:29)
Protection from death and hell (Psalm 16:10)
Peace and happiness (Psalm 132:15-18)
God keeps His promises, even though Israel abandoned the covenant many times. God never did. We don’t see the finished work of His promises, but we get to be a part of it. David didn’t get to see this covenant come to pass, and neither did his children or grandchildren. But he played a beautifully important role. Thank God He’s woven together each story and every creation to fulfill His plans. Our lives are important to Him, and He chooses to put us in His redemption story.
He chose to include you. He asks, “Will you listen to Me?”
